LIBRARY

16 March 2014

Today, dozens of villagers have staged a road block in Koh Kong's Thmar Bang district to prevent Chinese company Sinohydro from bringing heavy machinery into the area for a large scale hydroelectric dam project which would force hundreds of families off their land.

This marks the third consecutive day villagers have blocked the road. Sinohydro's local partner Pheapimex, owned by CPP senator Lao Mengkin, has been involved in some of Cambodia's most notorious land conflicts, including the Boeung Kak lake dispute.

14 February 2014

At about 7am this morning, the road leading to Borei Keila was blocked and riot police, military police and security guards were deployed to remove the families from the building. Six people were seriously injured in the ensuing clashes, including one 7-month-pregnant woman.

14 February 2014

This morning, security forces violently ended Borei Keila community's two-day occupation of a building on their land once promised to them.

At about 7am this morning, the road leading to Borei Keila was blocked and riot police, military police and security guards were deployed to remove the families from the building. Six people were seriously injured in the ensuing clashes, including one 7-month-pregnant woman. On Wednesday, over 150 dispossessed Borei Keila families moved in to the building - once promised to them in a land-sharing agreement in 2003 - after the government again failed to remedy the loss of their homes following their violent eviction in January 2012.

28 January 2014

Today, the United Nations will conduct a Universal Periodical Review (UPR) of Cambodia to look into some of the key human rights issues affecting the country, from systematic attacks against human rights defenders to labour trafficking and obstacles against basic freedoms such as right to assembly and expression. LICADHO, by itself and with partners, has contributed to this process by submitting a number of documents.

24 January 2014

On Jan 24, 2009, Dey Krahorm community was razed to the ground in a violent eviction carried out by company 7NG and state authorities. Hundreds of families were left homeless. Some residents were sent to a relocation site 45 kms from Phnom Penh.

This morning, communities, including Boeng Kak lake, Borei Keila and Thmor Kol, unions and other civil society groups joined former Dey Krahorm residents in solidarity to mark the 5-year anniversary of their brutal eviction. Outside the Dey Krahorm land, where new buildings have just started construction, communities spoke of their own eviction experiences and their determination to continue fighting forced relocation. The groups also called for the release of the 23 workers and human rights defenders imprisoned in early January. One of the detainees, Chan Puthisak, is a leader of the Boeung Kak Lake community.

6 January 2014

Five female representatives of Boeung Kak Lake community were arrested this morning as they prepared to protest in front of the French Embassy for the release of other imprisoned human rights defenders.

Meanwhile authorities continue to refuse to disclose the place of detention of at least 23 other people who were arrested and charged during recent brutal crackdowns in Phnom Penh. One of them is 17 year old boy. For the past three days their families, lawyers and independent medical professionals have been denied information about their location and health condition. Some were savagely beaten during arrest in Phnom Penh and are in urgent need of medical attention.

Those arrested this morning are Tep Vanny, Yorm Bopha, Pan Chunreth, Bop Chorvy and Sok Srey Leap. They are currently held at a police station on National Road 5.

22 November 2013

After more than 14 months detention, Yorm Bopha was finally released from Police Judiciaire prison (PJ) at 5.45 this evening. Her much-anticipated Supreme Court hearing began this morning at 9.45 as more than 400 supporters, including monks and civil society, joined her family and community outside the courtroom. After a 2-hour hearing, the Supreme Court granted bail to Bopha pending her re-trial at the Appeal Court.

Clearly emotional to be reunited with her eight-year-old son, and expressing gratitude to her fellow community members for their unstinting support, Bopha headed to Boeung Kak surrounded by well-wishers to celebrate her release.

Get the details of today's release via our live stream.

22 November 2013

On November 22, 2013, jailed land activist Yorm Bopha, declared Prisoner of Conscience in 2012, will appear in front of the Supreme Court for her last hearing to seek release. LICADHO will be live streaming news as-it-happens both inside and outside of courtroom.

4 September 2013

Today marks one year of detention since the arrest of Boeung Kak activist and prisoner of conscience Yorm Bopha. This video tells her story, from her strong stance in support of detained community members to her arrest and groundless conviction.

23 July 2013

The Guardian newspaper recently ran a damning expose of child labor on the KSL Group sugar plantations in Cambodia that supply the sugar giant Tate & Lyle Sugars. Rather than acting quickly to address the abuses, the companies seem to have resorted to a strategy of denial and legal bullying in an attempt to defend their tarnished reputations.

3 July 2013

In the wake of another two days of protests by members of the Boeung Kak community in Phnom Penh, who are demanding just resolution to a long-standing land conflict affecting their community before the national election on 28 July, we the undersigned non-governmental organizations (NGOs) wish to condemn the use of disproportionate force against protesters by the municipal police and other security forces. These protests are just the latest in a series of protests which have resulted in the use of violence or disproportionate force against protesters calling for an end to land disputes.

18 June 2013

Imprisoned Boeung Kak Lake land activist Yorm Bopha filed an appeal with the Supreme Court on June 17, 2013, in a bid to overturn or reduce her two-year prison sentence. She was convicted for her alleged involvement in a physical assault, but it is widely believed that the charges came in retaliation for her land rights activism.

Bopha was arrested in September 2012 and convicted of “intentional violence” in December; she was originally sentenced to three years imprisonment. The Court of Appeal suspended one year of her sentence on Friday, June 14, meaning she is scheduled for release in September 2014. Both Bopha’s original trial and her appeal were characterized by a stunning lack of evidence

5 June 2013

The appeal hearing of imprisoned Boeung Kak community member Yorm Bopha began today at approximately 2:45 p.m. in Phnom Penh, with hundreds of supporters gathering outside the court’s gates. An additional 30 to 40 members of a pro-government motodop association organized a counter-protest calling for Bopha to remain in prison. The counterprotest itself was not that vocal, but the group used piped-in crowd noise, channeled through a megaphone, in an attempt to drown out the chants of Bopha’s supporters. At least one of the motodop group told a human rights monitor he was paid 30,000 riels to protest.

Inside the court, approximately 40 people from local and international NGOs, foreign embassies, the United Nations, and media observed the hearing. Bopha and her husband both testified.

After three hours, the hearing was adjourned, to be continued on June 14 at 2 p.m.

31 May 2013

Two Cambodian NGOs, LICADHO and Equitable Cambodia filed a petition on behalf of 602 complainants about serious human rights violations linked to large sugar concessions held by Thai sugar giant, Mitr Phol Sugar Corporation.

30 May 2013

This morning near Phnom Penh city hall, authorities called in three fire trucks, which used high-pressure water from their hoses to disperse peaceful protesters from the Boeung Kak, Borei Keila and airport communities. Firefighters also targeted some community members who came to rescue colleagues who had fallen down due to the impact of the water. This video was taken at the scene.

22 May 2013

This year's Mothers Day coincided with the 250th day of imprisonment Yorm Bopha, a key Boeung Kak lake representative. The video highlight some of her activism and call for her release.

8 May 2013

On the morning of May 8, 2013, Boeung Kak community activists gathered in front of the South Korean Embassy in Phnom Penh to call for the release of Boeung Kak activist Yorm Bopha, declared Prisoner of Conscience by Amnesty International earlier this year. The action was in solidarity with a similar gathering in front of the Cambodian Embassy in Seoul, where South Korean activists were joined by a visiting Boeung Kak community member. The simultaneous gatherings in the two countries each culminated in the supporters submitting letters calling for the release of Yorm Bopha to Embassy officials.

2 May 2013

The Boeung Kak community and the undersigned civil society groups call for the inclusion of all remaining families into the 12.44ha concession area by the former lake. A new plan unveiled today by the community shows in detail how this could be achieved in a just and equitable fashion.

On August 11, 2011, Prime Minister Hun Sen signed Sub-Decree No. 183, awarding 12.44ha of the Boeung Kak lake area to the community, which since 2007 has been involved in a land dispute with Shukaku Inc., owned by CPP Senator Lao Meng Khin. Since then, 631 families have received titles for their land. However, over 70 families, whose homes are not located within the confines of the concession zone as outlined in the Sub-Decree, have been excluded.

23 April 2013

There has been some recent confusion surrounding the criminal case against Boeung Kak community activist Yorm Bopha. The muddling of the facts causing this confusion has been no accident – it reflects an intentional campaign by the authorities, complete with plausible allegations of payments to counter-protestors and even a disturbing weighing-in by the Prime Minister himself. In reality the facts underlying Bopha’s unwarranted conviction are simple, and reveal beyond any doubt that the authorities have targeted her to create fear and self-censorship among the remaining active members of the beleaguered Boeung Kak community.

13 March 2013

On the morning of March 13, 2013, a group of military police and police officers, accompanied by district security guards, stormed a peaceful protest by the Boeung Kak Lake community. In what turned out to be the most violent crackdown against this community, five citizens were left injured, including broken teeths and bones.